


Douse the Flames

by AnaliseGrey



Series: Where Light Fears to Tread [10]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Blood and Injury, Caleb is a self-rescuing princess, Exhaustion, M/M, Rescue, Time for softness my friends, hunger, thirst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:42:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27192580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaliseGrey/pseuds/AnaliseGrey
Summary: Caleb is limping along at his side, and Fjord is seething.He’s not mad at Caleb- this isn’t his fault- but Caleb has removed the person whowasat fault from the field, and it’s an effort to stuff the frustration down, that Caleb had essentially saved himself.Fjord is often impressed with Caleb, and this time is no different.
Relationships: Fjord/Caleb Widogast
Series: Where Light Fears to Tread [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1441021
Comments: 12
Kudos: 211





	Douse the Flames

**Author's Note:**

> An unexpected continuation of [I Light the Fire to Taste the Heat](http://archiveofourown.org/works/27086707) (y'all and your comments got my brain going...this is your fault, lol).

Caleb is limping along at his side, and Fjord is seething.

He’s not mad at Caleb- this isn’t his fault- but Caleb has removed the person who _was_ at fault from the field, and it’s an effort to stuff the frustration down, that Caleb had essentially saved himself.

Fjord is often impressed with Caleb, and this time is no different.

They aren’t going far, just getting out of the room where combat's wrapping up. The others are calling back and forth, and with a final muffled _thud_ a cheer goes up from Jester, and Fjord decides they’ve gone far enough.

“Hey, hold on.”

It takes a moment for the words to register with Caleb, his reactions not up to his usually speed, and when he turns to look at Fjord, it’s not hard to see the exhaustion writ large on his face. He sways in place, unsteady, and looks as if a stiff breeze could knock him over.

“Hm?”

Fjord moves a few steps forward, putting a hand on Caleb’s arm- one of the few places he can see that seems safe to touch- and steers him over to a wall. “We don’t need to go too far. I think the fight has ended.”

“Oh.” Caleb blinks slowly, and it’s not so much sitting down as a controlled collapse when his knees fold under him. Fjord reaches out to catch him on instinct, and while he manages, it pulls a pained sound out of Caleb. Shifting until he’s sitting, Caleb steadies himself with shaking arms, and Fjord pulls his hands away.

“Sorry, sorry- I didn’t even think, I just-”  
  
Caleb waves his apologies away, lips tilting up ever-so-slightly, even if it looks strained. “It’s alright. I know you meant well.”

Looking Caleb over, it’s difficult to know quite where to start; he’s healed Caleb a little, and could still do a bit more, but the heavy lifting will need to fall to Jester or Caduceus. 

But, first things first.

“Is there anything we should deal with immediately? Broken bones, internal injuries, anything like that?”

Caleb’s already shaking his head. “I was fortunate. I don’t believe they actually broke anything.”

“ _Fortunate-_ ” He takes in the bruising that seems to cover a majority of Caleb’s uncovered skin, the way one of his eyes is almost swollen shut, a darker line from where the blindfold must have cut in. The lash marks on his back, the angry burns on his arms and chest. How his fingertips are angry-looking, red and bloodied. Of course Caleb would call this fortunate.

“ _Ja_ ,” Caleb says, matter-of-fact in a way that always sends a cold shiver down Fjord's spine. “All of this would have been much harder to bear with broken ribs.”

“I suppose that’s true.” After a moment, Fjord gives up, and just asks. “Is there any place you’d _like_ me to start right now, and then Jester and Caduceus can deal with the rest?”

Another slow blink, and Caleb licks his lips.

“Water, if you could, please. They’ve given me nothing since they took me.”

“Gods, Caleb-” Fjord is immediately scrambling for his canteen. “You should have said something.”  
  
“I just did.” And there it is again, the gentle rise to his lips and the crinkle at his eyes that Fjord loves. Fjord passes him the canteen, and Caleb takes it in shaking hands, getting the stopper out. He takes a few sips, then stops, though it looks like it takes effort. A span of time passes, and after a few minutes, Caleb nods to himself, and drinks more.

“You’re a menace, you know that?”

Caleb huffs a laugh, taking one more sip of water before closing the canteen and handing it back to Fjord. “So you’ve told me, yes.”

“You should drink more of this. And we should get you something to eat.”  
  
“In a little bit. I want to be sure what I’ve put in there will stay.”

Fjord nods. “Now that we’ve done with that, what can I help with? I’ve still got some healing left I can give you. Is there anything especially bad?”

Caleb considers, brow wrinkling.

“Feet, I think. It will make walking less of a hardship.”

“Alright.” Fjord scoots away from the wall, and further down to where he can more easily reach. The burns look partially healed, probably from some of what he had done earlier, but they’re nowhere near ready to have been walked on. He sends a reproachful look up at the other man.

“ _Caleb_.”

“Hmm?”  
  
“I could have carried you; you shouldn’t have been walking like this.”

“I wanted to walk out of there on my own. I wanted-” Caleb sighs, rubbing a hand over his face, grimacing as he hits the swollen flesh around his eye. “I had to do it on my own.”

The thing is, Fjord gets it. He remembers what it was like in the Sour Nest, how it felt to be able to walk out on his own two feet, even if he wasn’t steady as he’d pretended to be. He’d needed it then, just as surely as Caleb had needed it now.

“I know,” Fjord murmurs, gently grasping Caleb’s ankles, rubbing his thumbs over the bumps of bone there, letting the last of his healing magic flow through his hands and into Caleb, soothing, fixing what he can.

There’s a quiet sound of relief from Caleb, his shoulders untensing minutely.

“Thank you, Fjord.”

“Of course. I only wish I could do more; you’re a bit of a mess.”

Caleb snorts. “ _Ja_ , I know.”

Fjord moves back to the wall and sits against it, urging Caleb to lean against his shoulder so he can rest without having to have his back pressed to the wall.

A few moments later Caduceus comes out and crouches down on Caleb’s other side.

“Well.” Caduceus’s eyes flick over Caleb, assessing. “Looks like we’ve got some work to do.”

It takes all Caduceus has left, and Caleb still isn’t healed all the way yet, but it’s a massive improvement over where he was when they found him.

“I think rest and a good meal would go a long way toward helping you feel better.” Caduceus gets back up, smiling at them as Fjord helps Caleb stand. “I think Jester's mostly tapped as well, but we can see how you’re feeling in the morning, and top you up if you’re still hurting.”

Now that the bruising is mostly gone, the dark circles under Caleb’s eyes are still dark, no less severe for being from a lack of proper rest rather than a fist to the face. It makes Fjord’s heart twinge to see it, to know that Caleb went through so much before they found him again. 

It doesn't take long for everyone to gather in the hallway, the others varying between sending surreptitious glances at Caleb to, in Veth's case, coming right up to him and making him lean down so she can see for herself that he's alright.

"Are you _sure_ you're okay, though? Maybe you shouldn't be walking back-"

" _Spatz_ ," Caleb says, "Caduceus has healed me up a great deal. I should be fine for a bit." His eyes flick over at Fjord, and he smiles before focusing back on Veth. "And if I am not fine, I will let you know. Fjord will be walking with me to keep me from any further harm, don't worry."

Veth scowls up at him, and wags a finger. "Fine. But if you need to stop and rest, you _tell_ us. I don't want to get part way back and have you keel over."

"Fair enough."

Beau's found Caleb's boots somewhere in the midst of looting the building, and he pulls them on, along with the rest of the things the Nein brought with them. His shirt is nowhere to be found, and he opts to have Fjord put his books and holsters into the bag of holding for safekeeping, rather than having the leather of the holsters rubbing against tender new skin. Caleb's shoulders visibly drop as he finishes bucking his component pouch back into place on his belt.

"Much better," Caleb says. "Let's go."

They head out, and as they move they tell Caleb about finding his things in the room, but not him, about having to ask around to even figure out what had happened before they could come after him. All in all, it was barely 24 hours, but it had felt much longer to them all.

The whole while they're walking, Fjord is holding pace with Caleb, keeping a close eye on him, ready to intervene at a moment's notice if he should start to falter. While he's not as steady as he usually is, Caleb is doing fairly well, keeping up with everyone else, accepting Fjord's canteen again with a smile when offered. When Fjord tries to offer him a piece of jerky to eat while they walk, Caleb shakes his head.

"I'm afraid I've gone around again to the point where I don't actually feel hungry." At the look Fjord levels at him, Caleb amends, "But I promise I will eat something once we're back in town."

They end up going to a place closer than the one they'd started in, not feeling safe in an inn where one of their own could get plucked up so easily. By the time they reach their destination, despite Caleb's repeated assertions that he's alright, his ability to push through begins to fail. He’s stumbling more easily, and, perhaps most-tellingly, not arguing with Fjord when he moves up alongside to steady him. Caleb's warm weight, slight as it is, against Fjord's side is comforting, a reminder that they weren't too late, that they got him back.

They head inside and Fjord aims them towards a staircase in the back of the common room before calling over his shoulder to Beau.

"Hey, could you-"

Beau tosses off a salute. "Food. On it, oh Captain my Captain."

He spares a smile of thanks before turning back to help Caleb up the steps and to their room. Opening their door, Fjord steers Caleb inside, barely getting it shut behind himself before Caleb turns and presses against Fjord's front, wrapping his arms around Fjord's middle and burying his face against Fjord's chest. He doesn't say anything, though there's a fine tremor Fjord can feel from him, even through his armor. Fjord puts his arms around Caleb as well, trying to be mindful of any lingering soreness, and holds him close.

They stand that way for a few minutes, and then Fjord kisses the top of Caleb's head before urging him back a step or two.

"I know Caduceus fixed you up, mostly," Fjord says quietly. "-and there's not really much I can do if there's anything left, but- well, I would feel a lot better being able to look and see you're alright, if you're amenable."

Caleb nods, and begins to pull his coat off before Fjord stops him.

"Let me?"

Caleb meets his eyes for a moment before nodding.“Alright, _schatz_.” and lets his hands drop back to his sides.

Moving close again, Fjord leans in, one hand coming to rest on Caleb's shoulder, the other carefully taking him by the chin and tilting his head up for a chaste press of lips before he starts the process of removing all of Caleb's layers.

The coat goes first, slid off Caleb's shoulders before being deposited on a chair. It's a bit of a shock to see bare skin under the coat instead of a shirt and holsters, but it's comforting to see it whole, if a bit bloodied. The belt and component pouch are next, set on the small table near the chair, and when Fjord turns back Caleb is watching him, a small smile on his lips even as he wobbles in place.

"Why don't you sit, Cay."

Shuffling over to the bed, Caleb drops onto it with a weary sigh, eyes sliding shut for a brief moment before looking up at Fjord again expectantly. Fjord moves into his space, drops to his knees, and unbuckles Caleb’s boots. He eases them off, sets them aside, and has Caleb lift his hips to wiggle out of his pants as well. Not getting up, Fjord tosses them aside, and rests his hands on Caleb’s knees, thumbs rubbing back and forth as he starts to look Caleb over. He lifts a hand to trace over some of the bruising around Caleb’s ribs that hasn’t quite faded yet, lifts it further to rest on Caleb’s chest over his heart, taking strength from the steady feel of it beating under his palm.

“I was so scared when we realized you were gone,” Fjord murmurs. “When we realized you’d been taken. We thought it might be some of your old school-mates, but when we asked about the people who took you, they told us they were local- thugs.” Fjord’s eyes flick up to meet Caleb’s. “And I was so relieved, to know it was only some smugglers and not _them_ , I don’t think it really occurred to me- to us- what might have been happening.”

“Do you know, _liebling_ , I wasn’t scared at all.”

Fjord raises an eyebrow at that, and Caleb’s smile grows as he gives Fjord’s wrist a squeeze.

“I had no doubt that you all would come for me. That _you_ would come for me. It was never a question of _if_ you’d come. It was only a matter of when.”

A knock at the door startles them both before Fjord can respond.

“Food’s just outside the door. They’ve got more in the kitchen if you want it.”

Calling out his thanks, Fjord stands again, giving Caleb's shoulder a squeeze before heading to the door. On a tray just outside the room are a couple of bowls filled to brimming with stew still gently steaming, along with hunks of crusty bread. Grabbing it, he brings it inside and bumps the door shut with his hip before moving back to the bed. He sits beside Caleb, balancing the tray on his lap, and hands a bowl and spoon off to Caleb before starting in on his own.

He’s trying not to stare, but Fjord can’t help watching out of the corner of his eye, making certain Caleb is okay, that he’s eating. And he is- slow, methodical, and Fjord wouldn’t be surprised if Caleb was counting seconds between each bite. It settles something in Fjord to see Caleb not only finish the bowl, but to eat a chunk of bread as well, using it to scoop up the last bits of stew from the bottom of the bowl.

When they’re both done, Fjord moves the tray to the floor near the door and helps Caleb clean up with a cloth dampened at the wash basin. It’s not as good as an actual bath, but it will do for now, getting the remaining blood and dirt off. He has Caleb turn so he can reach Caleb’s back where some of the worst damage was, and tries not to remember how it looked earlier when they found him. Now it’s completely healed, though pink scars remain, the skin shiny and new. Fjord makes sure he’s careful, but Caleb still occasionally sucks in a breath and tenses in response. Murmuring an apology, he leans in to kiss Caleb’s shoulder, then gets up to drop the used wash cloth near his bag. He pours Caleb a cup of water from a pitcher on the night stand and Caleb drains it, then another before he waves off Fjord’s offer of more.

“I think at this point I should follow the rest of Mr. Clay’s advice and get some rest.”

Moving back to the bed, Fjord helps Caleb to stand, then pulls the blankets back so he can lay down. Caleb’s head hits the pillow with a sigh, body melting into the mattress. He turns his head, catching Fjord’s gaze.

“Stay with me?”

Reaching down, Fjord brushes auburn strands back, tucking them behind Caleb’s ear before turning the gesture into a caress. Caleb turns his face into it, eyes sliding shut as he presses a kiss to Fjord’s palm.

“Of course. Give me a moment.”

It takes a few minutes to get his armor off, to wipe himself down quickly to get rid of the dust and sweat of combat and travel, then makes sure the door to the room is locked. He blows the candles out, dropping the room from dim flickering light into darkness, and climbs into the bed, pulling the blankets back up and over them both. He turns, settling on his side to face Caleb, waiting patiently as Caleb cuddles near, and Fjord gathers him in, pressing a kiss into Caleb's hair. He thinks of how Caleb looked when they’d found him, beaten and bruised, pinned under the foot of a criminal upstart, and hugs Caleb closer.

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

There’s a puff of breath, warm against Fjord’s chest as Caleb drops an arm over Fjord’s ribs and squeezes.

“And I’m glad you came for me.”

Fjord settles further into the bed, reveling in the presence of Caleb against him.

“Always.”


End file.
